Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series-Chapter 161: Orchestral Symphony [26]

Trust me," Lopt said again, his voice too soft, too hollow, like it had lost its meaning.

But Emmeranne wasn't listening.

"Shut up," she said.

In a blink, she vanished.

Aiden's breath hitched.

She reappeared behind Lopt, sword drawn, the edge already mid-swing, her movement like lightning, ready to strike. But before the blade could slice, before she could even touch the fabric of his shirt, a wave of invisible force surged through the air.

Karro hadn't moved much. He just lifted his arms lazily in her direction and Emmeranne gasped.

Her body froze midair, suspended like a puppet whose strings had snapped. The color drained from her face as her eyes widened in horror. Her sword dropped with a dull thud to the ground before she vanished again, this time reappearing by Aiden's side, crumpling to the forest floor. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Emmeranne!" Aiden dropped to his knees beside her.

She was coughing- no, choking- on something thick and wet. Blood then splattered on her fingers and stained her lips, vivid against her pale skin.

"Hey, hey...look at me-" Aiden pressed a hand to her back, trying to keep her steady. "Don't- don't move. Just breathe."

She clutched her chest and looked up at him, her mouth trembling, her eyes flickering with pain and fury. "He… he pulled it. My blood. I could feel it."

Aiden's own blood boiled. He looked up, eyes narrowing at Karro.

"Don't hurt her!" he yelled, voice breaking. "It's me you want, right?! You want to kill me, don't you? Then I'm here! Don't do the same thing to her that you did to Savion!"

Karro watched him with a contorted grin. His gaunt face, pale and drawn, made his eyes seem even more sunken. They gleamed with cruel satisfaction.

Emmeranne, still on the ground, wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and pushed herself up slowly, glaring at Karro.

"Blood manipulation," she said hoarsely. "Karro has blood manipulation, but it must have only a certain radius."

Karro chuckled low in his throat, like the purr of a viper before it struck.

"Oh, very good," he said, drawing out each syllable like a taunt. "You see it now. The tiniest trace of your blood in the air, and snap-I own you. Isn't it beautiful?"

"You're sick," Aiden growled, his flames burning hotter, more unstable than before.

Karro tilted his head, expression almost amused.

"And you're a Chase," he sneered. "A little boy from a line of monsters who call themselves saviors. How poetic that you're the one stumbling here, trying to be good. What would your ancestors say?"

He stepped forward, voice rising in a cruel crescendo, as though he were savoring the moment like a twisted symphony.

"Your family murdered my wife. You all burned her like she was a spectacle, like she was not a being who has a family to come back to, who had dreams just like you all do," he hissed, the word full of venom. "And now here you are, shaking with rage, trying to protect people when you can't even protect yourself."

Aiden stepped in front of Emmeranne, shielding her. Karro's laugh erupted- high-pitched and hollow, echoing like something undead.

"Oh, how the mighty Chase line has fallen," he said. "But don't worry, boy. You'll join them soon."

The air grew thick and dark and Aiden felt like he was suffocating.

Aiden's fire flared behind him, struggling to fight off the cold shadow creeping in from Karro's presence.

Lopt stood nearby, silent, watching them both. His eyes were unreadable, face masked behind a grin that no longer held joy- only resignation.

With one motion, Lopt stepped forward, slow and casual, as though the chaos around them was merely a stage and he had waited for the perfect moment to enter. His boots echoed against the cracked earth, drawing the attention of both Karro and the two bleeding figures behind him.

Aiden flinched when he saw him, his hand instinctively lighting up with flame, but then he stopped. There was something different in Lopt's eyes now. Something more dangerous… and yet strangely familiar.

Without a word, Lopt spread his arms out wide, placing himself squarely between Karro and the two he had just betrayed.

"...What is the meaning of this?" Karro's voice curled through the air like venom, low and threatening.

Lopt grinned, wild and unhinged, like a maniac.

"Meaning? Oh, Karro. I'm so very thankful to be of service. I led them like lambs to the edge, didn't I? I created the venue, pulled the strings, and let your shadow do its little dance."

His eyes turned sharp, like shattered glass.

"But now that you're here… it's time I repay Savion the grandest gift he could ever receive." Lopt's voice dropped, sickly sweet. "You."

He raised one gloved hand and pointed directly at Karro's heart.

"You're going to die."

Aiden stared at him, torn between horror and disbelief. The very same person who'd smiled at him in disguise, laughed with them, trained them in tricks had also been the one to push him off a cliff. And now he was… protecting them?

Aiden felt so confused he didn't even know what to feel at that moment. He couldn't trust anyone.

"You're mad," Karro hissed, his expression twisting with confusion for the first time.

"Oh, I've never claimed otherwise," Lopt chuckled, spinning like a conductor mid-performance, arms flowing as though orchestrating invisible strings. "But I'll tell you one thing, dear Karro. You've made one fatal mistake. You thought you were the head of this little tragedy."

He leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper even Aiden could hear.

"But don't forget who did all of this."

A gust of wind blew through the trees, and for a moment everything stilled- the forest, the sky, even the weight of dread. Karro's robe fluttered in the breeze as he took a step forward.

"You forget where you stand," Karro said slowly, darkly. "You are under the same rules as the rest. And you think the Academy will protect you?"

Lopt only laughed, louder now, head tilting back like a man on the edge of unraveling. "Oh, Karro, Karro, Karro. You think being under Academy grounds matters? Do you know how many of your 'rules' I've broken in the last year? How many strings I've cut, how many threads I've knotted just to get you here?"

He motioned behind him without looking.

"I used the Chase boy. I used Emmeranne. I used every pawn and piece I could find. And you know what?"

His voice dropped, his smile widening, unhinged. "You are no one without my help."

The wind howled louder, the ground humming beneath their feet. Lopt didn't move. His gaze locked with Karro's, alight with rage and defiance.

"You were always just another instrument in my play."

Behind him, Aiden breathed hard, the flames in his hand flickering weakly, confusion spinning in his mind.

Emmeranne's eyes stayed on Karro, but even she looked stunned by Lopt's sudden reversal.

For a moment, the battlefield was frozen.

And Lopt… laughed again.

The tension was unbearable.

Karro stood motionless, but the air around him felt electric and dangerous, waiting to explode any moment. His pale, bony fingers twitched slightly, like they were aching to move, to strike, to destroy. Lopt remained where he was, grinning with a wild gleam in his eyes. He was goading him, clearly, and Karro was seconds from cracking.

"You've always had a gift for theatrics," Karro laughed, voice tight.

Lopt tilted his head. "I learned from the best."

Karro's lip curled, and that was when Aiden knew, he got under his skin.

Emmeranne took a defensive stance beside Aiden, her blade still coated with streaks of red from earlier. She didn't trust either of them now. And Aiden? He couldn't even look at Lopt without feeling his chest burn.

"You threw me off a cliff," Aiden said again, quietly.

Lopt turned, looking at him with a strange softness. "To save you."

"Save me?" Aiden spat. "From what?"

But Lopt just offered him a half-smile, almost apologetic.

From behind, Karro finally moved.

It was only a flick of his hand, but the earth trembled in response, and blood in the air thickened like mist. His power was starting to churn again, bubbling just beneath the surface.

Lopt let out a long, theatrical sigh. "Well. I suppose this is my cue."

Before either of them could react, he turned to Aiden and Emmeranne with a flash of that chaotic grin.

"Good luck, friends," he said with a mock bow. "And remember- trust no one."

Then, with one last wave, he vanished into the trees, disappearing into the shadows like smoke.

Gone.

Aiden's stomach dropped.

The wind was sucked out of the clearing as Karro began to laugh low and cruel.

"Oh," he said slowly, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "That had to hurt."

Aiden didn't speak. He couldn't.

"Betrayed again," Karro went on, smiling now. "How does it feel, Chase? To always be the one they leave behind?"

Aiden's fists ignited.

Emmeranne moved forward, blade up, no hesitation in her eyes now. "He's not alone."

Karro's grin widened.

"No. But he will be."

And just like that, Karro lifted both arms, and the ground exploded beneath them.

Blood surged like liquid vines from the earth, lashing out toward them, twisting mid-air like serpents.

Aiden rolled sideways, barely dodging one of the tendrils, while Emmeranne slashed clean through another. The forest around them went dark as Karro's power bled into the trees, turning the roots red and warping the light.

Aiden's fire lit the space around him, his heart pounding, not just from the fight, but from everything else.

The pain churned in his chest like a second flame, and this time, he let it burn.

"Okay. Let's finish this, you shit."